Friday, September 21, 2007

Internal migration continues to alter demography and standard of living in Iraq

The Iraqi Red Crescent Organization expects to release a migration report this week in light of the vast internal migration that is reshaping the ethnic landscape of the country. Information given in advance to the New York Times indicates that “there are now nearly 170,000 families, accounting for almost a million people, that have fled their homes in search of security, shelter, water, electricity, functioning schools or jobs to support their families only in Baghdad.”

According to the article “the figures show that many families move twice, three times or more, first fleeing immediate danger and then making more considered calculations based on the availability of city services or schools for their children. Finding neighbors of their own sect is just one of those considerations”.

“Although Iraqis of every income level, sect, ethnicity and region of the country have been caught up in this migration, perhaps the most tragic consequences turn up where enormous numbers of poor Iraqi villagers have collected in camps, shantytowns and urban slums after leaving behind almost everything they owned”, Dr. Said Hakki, a physician who is the president of the Red Crescent told the New York Times.

Aid workers are both alarmed and concerned about the growing migration problem. The report states that these relief workers “have a mammoth task to alleviate the sufferings of this vast number of Iraqis.”

According to the article: “Although Iraqis of every income level, sect, ethnicity and region of the country have been caught up in this migration, perhaps the most tragic consequences turn up where enormous numbers of poor Iraqi villagers have collected in camps, shantytowns and urban slums after leaving behind almost everything they owned, said Dr. Said Hakki, president of the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization.

However, the statistics contained in the report have been challenged by the Ministry of Displacement and Migration who claims the politically delicate figures are too high.

It should also be noted that violence and insecurity are not the only factors spurring migration in the country. The article states: “In Baghdad, many of the displacements measured by the Red Crescent are secondary or tertiary. Many people have already moved once and the statistics are reflecting their second or, in some cases, their third move. While the fear of sectarian violence or of being caught in ongoing military operations motivates people to make their initial move, it is the desire for better living conditions that drives them to make subsequent ones. Some people first go to relatives in areas outside Baghdad, but then migrate back into the city as they search for jobs, and for more access to electricity, water and schools.”